Opposing views on labor unions

At a time when many Americans choose to be exposed only to opinions with which they agree, I still enjoy talking with those who see issues in a different light. And given my opinion of unions – namely, that for all the good they did in the 20th century, they're now hurting America by demanding too much, giving up too little, fostering a sense of entitlement and conditioning members to fear competition – this means occasionally checking in with Beth Shulman.

A lawyer, author and former vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Shulman is currently a senior analyst with the Russell Sage Foundation and a true believer in the power of unions to improve people's lives – especially in tough economic times.

Our topic of conversation was the Employee Free Choice Act now before Congress. One of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation in recent memory, the bill would allow workers to register their desire to join a union by simply signing a card – as opposed to an election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.

Rep. Hilda Solis, President Obama's pick for secretary of labor, is a co-sponsor of the bill. Shulman is a huge proponent.

Employers are trying to defeat the measure, claiming it would essentially eliminate secret ballots. Shulman insists workers can still have an election with secret ballots if they want one. She contends the current system is broken because employers, through intimidation, effectively have “veto power” over whether workers can join a union – a “card check” system would “put the choice (to unionize) back in the hands of workers rather than the employer.”

I won't deny that some employers might improperly try to discourage workers from organizing. It's just that, in this scenario, I see the employee like a tugboat caught between two icebergs – the employer and the union. It's easy to get crushed. I asked Shulman whether employees couldn't be just as intimidated by union supporters as by their boss.

Let's just say it wasn't her favorite question.

“The employer has total control over the workplace,” Shulman said. “They can fire you anytime they want. They can change your schedule. This idea that there is equal intimidation is just ridiculous, truly ridiculous.”

She claimed that the reality of union organizing isn't at all like what many folks imagine.

“There is this idea of big union organizers standing around,” she said. “But often, it is workers organizing other workers. It's not some big outside force coming in.”

Wait a minute. America is a big country, and there are lots of different workplaces and lots of different unions. Certainly Shulman didn't really want to go out on a limb and say that pressure and intimidation by unions never happens.

She said she didn't, but insisted that there were safeguards to prevent unions from pushing too hard. Besides, she added, what is important is that the process is fair, regardless of the outcome.

“If there really is a free way of people deciding without intimidation, without any coercion or whatever,” she said, “then I'm happy – whatever that vote is.”

Finally, to make her point about how bad the current system is, Shulman mentioned the case of a poultry processing plant in North Carolina where, to hear her tell it, the employers acted more like feudal lords.

“The employers fired and harassed people,” she said. “They brought in the immigration service to scare immigrants.”

That sounds familiar. Calling in la migra to raid a workplace was an old trick of the United Farm Workers Union, where – according to several historical accounts – the devotees of Cesar Chavez would often stoop that low to get rid of scabs.

The point is, anyone can pick up the phone and call Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And once those illegal immigrant workers get deported, it doesn't matter who made the call. All the workers care about is that they will have to pay a smuggler another $3,000 to get back across the border where they will try their chances again.

Shulman seemed a bit taken back when I told her about the history of UFW officials calling immigration. But she didn't defend the practice.

“If it happened, that kind of behavior is unconscionable,” she said. “Period.”